14. Big Bads

Kara looks at the man intently. The moment he pulled out that dagger, the air around him began to change. It was as if she was looking at a completely different person. She could no longer see the always irritated man who would casually grin at her annoyance. Instead, what stood in front of Kara was a monster, pure and simple. 

She watches as the mercenary turns the weapon above his head with maniacal glee. He swings the chains and the blade flies forward. As if with a mind of it's own, the weapon snakes around Toji, going through one undead assassin after the other. The lifeless corpse turn brittle before eventually crumbling into ash. Kara watches in shock at seeing the mercenary rein chaos all over them and for the first time, she realizes why all her friends feared him. 

Toji continues to wreak havoc until the army whittled down into only a few dozen. Kara and the archers take down the handful of stragglers that manage to get past the blade and chain dancing in front of them. 

Eventually, the assassins stop attacking. The move in rank and make way as a man clad in black and gold armor walk forward. Kara and the other heroes ready themselves. Toji whips his chain towards the new enemy but the warrior easily catches the weapon.

'Interesting', says the enemy as he looks at the weapon. The chain tenses and the blade flails before returning to it's owner. The warrior having lost his mask, looks at Toji with intense hate. 'You ill-mannered filth', roars the man. 

Beside Kara, Red Arrow gasps, 'Ra's al Ghul'. All of them tense up. Although she hasn't met him yet, Kara knows about the immortal leader of the League of Assassins. He also knows that he's not someone they should be holding back on. 'We need to get down there'.

All the heroes group up, ready to join their comrade, but before they could, the rest of the assassins manage to surround them. Kara flies over over them but something grabs her and throws her to the ground. The heroes run next to her in surprise. When she looks up she sees a few new faces in the crowd. Lady Shiva, Sportsmaster, Cheshire, Mammoth and Blockbuster. 

Sportsmaster steps forward and gives the group a sarcastic wave. 'Sorry kiddies but the boss man wants to have a little chat with your friend over there. Why don't you play with us instead?' 

The heroes ready themselves. Then, together, they run towards the enemy and the clash begins. 

---

Batgirl stops Lady Shiva before she could strike Nightwing. The woman swings at her instead, and the heroine steps back. Nightwing and Robin attack in tandem but the villain easily dodges their attacks. Lady Shiva knocks Robin out and starts to focus her strikes on Nightwing. 

Batgirl looks around and sees Artemis and Red Arrow facing off against Cheshire and Sportsmaster. Supergirl is holding her own against Mammoth and Blockbuster but by the looks of it, the kryptonian is beginning to lose ground. Suddenly, the heroine gets pushed out of the way as Nightwing blocks a sword swing from Lady Shiva. 

'Focus', he orders Batgirl. 'We can't help them if we're dead'. 

Batgirl nods at that and together with Nightwing and Robin, the three of them strike at Lady Shiva.

---

Toji can hear the heroes fighting behind him, however, what stands in front of him now is more of a threat. 'Ra's al Ghul. So you're the infamous leader of the League of Assassins', says the mercenary. 

'I'm far more than that, boy', Ra's snarls. 'I have brought down kings and watched empires burn to the ground. I have seen the world grow only to see it fall. I have led history to what it is today'.

'I've known quite a few like you. All looking down on us from atop your golden towers'. 

'Then join us. Let us raise you to glory', says the villain, gesturing with open arms.

'You know, that lady said pretty much the same thing', says Toji, pointing at the woman fighting Nightwing and Batgirl.

'Ah, yes. I sent Lady Shiva to invite you to our ranks. She was weak and thus she failed', says Ra's with a hint of disappointment. 'After this is over, she will have to be disciplined further. Now, join us'.

Toji shrugs. 'I'll decline. Not much for following orders'. 

'You're mistaken, child. I wasn't asking'. Ra's al Ghul roars as he pulls two scimitars and moves to a stance. Toji turns his weapon before swinging it. The Inverted Spear flies towards the immortal who parries it with his sword. Ra's leaps and swings his weapons and Toji blocks it with his chain. The attack is quickly followed by a kick to the chest. Toji stumbles but not before swinging the chain and hitting Ra's in the cheek. 

Toji recovers but feels a sudden warmth in his chest. With his chest now having a large diagonal cut on it, the mercenary looks at his enemy and finds a blade poking out of Ra's shoes. 'Is that truly the best you can do?' says the immortal. 

With a glare Toji takes his weapon and puts it back in the spirit's mouth. Then, he takes out the Soul Splitting Katana and gives his enemy a raving grin. 'They say you're immortal. Let's put that to the test, shall we?'